Briton, 67, was strangled by her French neighbour because she asked to borrow Sellotape
A BRITISH pensioner was strangled to death by a neighbour in southern France, after she moved there for her ‘dream’ retirement.
Susan Higginbotham, 67, was brutally murdered by Hichame Bahloul, 42, who ‘exploded’ after she asked him to borrow some Sellotape.
The retired finance director was discovered dead in her home in Esclottes, a village of just 150 people around 35 miles east of Bordeaux, in September 2021.
Bahloul was sentenced to 30 years behind bars after warning the court: ‘If you ever let me out, I’ll do it again.’
The Lot-et-Garonne Assize Court heard he had spent almost half his life in psychiatric care but had been back living with his parents for six months at the time of the murder. Ms Higginbotham was on good terms with Bahloul and there was no history of conflict.
During the trial, Bahloul said he attacked Ms Higginbotham over his annoyance that she had asked him repeatedly for the tape.
He told the court: ‘The story of the tape? It was a pretext to go to her house. I returned to her house with my cord and I strangled her. We fell, the rope fell. It broke. I took my fists and punched her in the face and kicked her in the chest to make sure she was dead.’
According to reports in France, Bahloul’s own defence lawyer, Mr Verdier, requested that his client be given the maximum sentence.
‘I am here to defend the wishes of my client,’ Mr Verdier said.
‘The latter coincides with the report of the expert psychologist: it is necessary for him to remain in prison.’
The court also heard from a friend of Ms Higginbotham’s named Sharon, who said: ‘Sue was a very pleasant person, she took care of people a lot, [she] was very open.
Sharon added: ‘She really wanted to be happy in France when she moved in 2016, and I think she was. She was living her dream.’